


Monster

by J_ACE



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Jughead is a good friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-09-26 23:13:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9928241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J_ACE/pseuds/J_ACE
Summary: After visiting Polly, Betty runs off. Jughead finds and comforts her.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Possible spoilers about Polly.

“You’re not a monster.” The words left his mouth with careful thought, his voice barely above a whisper. 

 

And just like that it returned to mere silence. 

 

There was no noise around them, no secret whispers about new found evidence, no gossip about their friends, no teasings, no giddiness, no nothing. 

 

He really couldn’t stand this and that alone said something, especially since he could spend hours at Pops writing his novel and just listening to the  _tap, tap, tap_ of his fingers moving swiftly across the keyboard.

 

Silence was his typical friend. 

 

Silence in his house meant that there was no fighting. It meant his parents were getting along and Jellybean wasn’t crying and that he was once again returned to being a kid only caring about silly naive things that only kids care about.

 

That house no longer exist.

 

And his coveted silence betrayed him. 

 

Glancing over at his typical Hitchcock blonde, she continued to say nothing. Sitting here with him; in his abandoned tree house that was just recollection of fond childhood memories, she looked like a textbook definition what it meant to be held in a beautiful despair. 

 

It surprised him when he found her here. After everything went down over the past few weeks involving Betty’s father and the discoveries they made, this was the last place he expected to find her. He knew that she was hitting her breaking point; she was beginning to bubble over as they dug deeper. He warned her and told her to stop. He told her to leave the past buried in the past to keep her sanity. He told her to stop digging not just for her family’s sake but, most importantly for hers. Seeing Polly was her final breaking point. Seeing how her family was treating Polly after subsequently finding Sheriff Keller’s missing files in her father’s locked cabinet confirmed almost all of their suspicions. 

 

She just snapped.

 

Glancing around at the now-too-small treehouse, Jughead was surprised they actually fit and still had room to move. And yet, she still came here. It was pretty smart of her. Her parents, who surely rallied up a gang of people to locate their daughter after she yelled obscurities at them and ran off, were probably scouring the town. So Jughead’s treehouse would allow her a couple of hours to calm down. 

 

Chancing another look at his friend, he could see remnants of tears on her cheeks that told him more than enough. He needed to handle this — her — with the upmost care. She was precious cargo and had always been precious cargo to him ever since she pushed down Suzy Summers in the first grade after Suzy tried to trip him for not giving her his juice box. 

 

He had to be careful.

 

Taking in a deep breath, he worked himself up to have the courage to reach over and gently lace his fingers with hers, squeezing her hand.

 

“You’re not a monster.” He repeated, louder this time and with more conviction. 

 

She squeezed back and was suddenly coiled into his side.

 

Normally, he would recoil from this. He hated physical touching and human contact more than anything, ever since Ethel forcefully kissed him in the third grade. Generally, he was the first to disappear into the shadows when people started to get touchy around each other. But, as much as he was not inclined to admit it, actions spoke louder than words and sometimes a hug or — holding hands — was all anyone needed. And it was for his Betty. She needed it.

 

“But,” Betty’s voice began to speak as it broke the silence with its tearful raspiness, “I am—“

 

“Elizabeth Cooper, you are not a monster. You can never be a monster.” He said confidently, cutting her off. “What your parents do, their actions, do not reflect your choices. What they decide to do with their own freewill is up to them and it is not your responsibility to carry their burden. You are only responsible for what you do.”

 

“But Polly — she thinks we all abandoned her because she was pregnant-“

 

“—which is not true. You never stopped asking about your sister and your sister only believed what your parents told her. They manipulated you both. Don’t take this on yourself. Breathe, Betty, breathe. I know for a fact that Betty Cooper is not just going to leave her sister now that she knows the truth. I know that you are going to visit her and your future niece or nephew and cherish them with gifts and love because you’re compassionate. You are going to be one hell of an aunt because you were born strong-willed,  stubborn and with with a huge heart. You just need to slow down now and breathe.” 

 

He could feel her bury her fave into his shirt as a felt a soft smile press into his chest. He sighed with relief.

 

Leaning his head back against the wall, he closed his eyes as he let himself just be in the moment. He slowly let go of Betty’s hand to wrap his arm around her and pull her in close, revelling in the moment.

 

“Do you….” Feeling her shift up a little bit, he listened as she continued to speak. “Do you remember when your dad first built this place? You and Archie made a rule of no girls allowed—"

 

“And you were extremely upset?” He asked, a small smile gracing his lips.

 

“I was downright pissed. The three of us were like the three musketeers and suddenly I was booted from the group because I was a girl and you declared yourself a “woman-hater”.” He couldn’t help himself from chuckling at that memory.

 

“And yet, you still managed to break into our fortress on numerous occasions—"

 

“—Well it wasn’t my fault that you and Archie would spend hours up here. I had to get your attention somehow. You guys would just come up here and talk for  _hours_. What is it that two nine-year old boys would have to talk about anyway? I needed to know.” She exclaimed, defending herself.

 

“Well, we would just gossip about you and plot your demise for breaking into the scared treehouse and leaving pink construction paper hearts everywhere. That and we would talk about which one of us would marry you first.” He rambled on, before feeling a blush cover his cheeks at what he just admitted.

 

“Wait — really?” And suddenly Betty was sitting up, her face inches from his own with her own amused smile.

 

He fucked up. 

 

“No, nope. I lied. We played x-box like two grown nine year-olds do. Killing zombies and playing wrestling was my nine year-old aesthetic—“

 

“Juggie, stop lying.” She said to him teasingly. “Who got to marry me first?”

 

“Me.” He admitted softly. “At least before you liked Archie. We both agreed that I’d marry you first before I realized that girls were “icky” and you’d be my last.”

 

“Aww, Juggie.” Betty chuckled, resuming her place on his chest.

 

“But little did Arch know that I had no intention of giving you up.” He whispered before adding on, “I mean how could I when I figure out that you made the best desserts in all of Riverdale? Pff, no way I’d give up my wife Mrs. Betty Jones to Archie Andrews.” He chuckled, something primal in his chest warming at the thought of Betty becoming his wife and taking on his last name.

 

Gently rubbing her back, he smiled to himself as the silence was once again his. Comfortable and a friend. 

 

Slowly, Jughead pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Archie —

 

_I found her, she is safe. Tell her parents that she will be back in a few hours after she has calmed down and is ready to talk._

_No need to send a rescue crew. — Jughead_

Turning his phone on silent, he slid it back into his pocket.

 

“I don’t think I’d divorce you for Archie either, Juggie. I mean especially after you knock me up and we have a litter, there is no getting rid of me.”

 

“Y-you want a litter? How much constitutes as a litter?”

 

“Oh, maybe ten, or twelve.”

 

“Kids?”

 

“Yes, kids.”

 

“And i’m the father of these twelve kids?”

 

“Well, it takes two to tango. And who knows maybe a dog —“

 

“—And a white picket fence too?”

 

He could feel her smile into his chest at his reply. 

 

He would do it for her too. As long as it made her smile, he would give her everything she desired.

 

But maybe only one kid.


End file.
